Sergeant Oliver S. Gunnels
Greenville Police Department
South Carolina
End of Watch: Friday, February 17, 1911

Biographical Info
Age: 62
Tour of Duty: 26 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Friday, February 17, 1911
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Lynched by mob

Sergeant Gunnels was shot and killed while investigating a suspicious man the railroad station at Augusta and Vardry Streets. The suspect was seen entering a bathroom. When Sergeant Gunnels shined his flashlight in the bathroom the suspect opened fire with a .22 caliber pistol, fatally wounding him. The man fled but was later caught after murdering a railroad conductor in Augusta, Georgia. The man was taken from the Augusta Jail and lynched by an angry mob.

Sergeant Gunnels had been with the agency for 26 years.